Lucent v. Microsoft — Following the case of the shrinking damages

Description

Abstract: The decade-old patent infringement litigation in Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp. illustrates, as the court itself observed, “the difficulty of properly valuing a small patented component, without a stand-alone market, within a larger program.” Lucent won “reasonable royalty” damages against Microsoft, but the award was reduced repeatedly until, in January 2012, the parties settled their dispute for an undisclosed sum. This article explains the court's reasoning as it tried to determine damages regarding a product that contained both infringing and noninfringing components. A sidebar discusses application of the entire market value rule. Citation: Lucent Technologies Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., Case No. 07-CV-2000 H (CAB) (S.D. Cal. Nov. 10, 2011)